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De-Lubing old bullets (Read 3557 times)

bpjack Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 3696 Location: East Olympia, WA Joined: May 18^th, 2008	De-Lubing old bullets Sep 12^th, 2023 at 8:01pm	Print Post
	I have been cleaning the old lube off of several hundred bullets from Schuetzenmeister’s estate. Some are dated 2014 and according to the scribbled notes on the labels, used Emmert’s lube. There is a dried up yellowish coating that flaked off and a coating of some unknows sticky substance remaining in the grooves. I have tried several methods, but the best is to spread them out on paper towels and take a heat gun to them to melt off whatever you can. Them I boil them for ½ hour or so. At this point they are still very sticky and I stir them in a class container of Acetone. Other solvents don’t do much but this method results in some fairly clean bullets ready to re-lube. In 2016, Bob evidently started using Alberts and Javelina lubes. These are still nice and sticky and I think they will shoot just fine. Jack

	ASSRA # 11318 Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
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Otony Senior Forum Member Offline Posts: 310 Location: Bandon, Oregon Joined: Jun 5^th, 2021	Re: De-Lubing old bullets Reply #1 - Sep 12^th, 2023 at 8:23pm	Print Post
	I used to have good luck years ago using gasoline to remove cosmoline from milsurp rifles. Now gasoline and acetone are worlds apart, both can be risky if misused, but each can produce good results far outside of their typical intended use. As well, there are significant differences between bullet lubes and cosmoline, but in the end both are grease. Try gas. Try it outside!
	« Last Edit: Sep 12^th, 2023 at 11:59pm by Otony »
	Otony
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bpjack Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 3696 Location: East Olympia, WA Joined: May 18^th, 2008	Re: De-Lubing old bullets Reply #2 - Sep 12^th, 2023 at 8:48pm	Print Post
	I will give it a shot . The 45 and 40 cal bullets are done. Mostly 32 cal to go. Maybe 2-300. Jack

	ASSRA # 11318 Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
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RDBallard Full Member Offline Posts: 116 Location: Kansas Joined: Apr 22^nd, 2020	Re: De-Lubing old bullets Reply #3 - Sep 12^th, 2023 at 9:06pm	Print Post
	Double boiler. I think lube will melt off and come to top. Let it cool and remove lube and bullets


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bpjack Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 3696 Location: East Olympia, WA Joined: May 18^th, 2008	Re: De-Lubing old bullets Reply #4 - Sep 12^th, 2023 at 9:14pm	Print Post
	That works with some lubes, but the black gooey stuff in the grooves will not come out completely with boiling. It needs some solvent. If you hit it with a heat gun on high it just boils in place until it forms a black crust. Nasty stuff!

	ASSRA # 11318 Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
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yamoon Oldtimer Offline NRA Life, ASSRA , GGCA, MCA Posts: 991 Location: Junction City Kansas Joined: Feb 11^th, 2012	Re: De-Lubing old bullets Reply #5 - Sep 13^th, 2023 at 11:09am	Print Post
	I removed Emmett lube by putting them on a paper towel on a cookie sheet in the oven at 200 degrees. Worked great, even made the kitchen smell like honey. Mike


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bpjack Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 3696 Location: East Olympia, WA Joined: May 18^th, 2008	Re: De-Lubing old bullets Reply #6 - Sep 13^th, 2023 at 12:53pm	Print Post
	I just hit some with a heat gun and it definitely does not smell like honey. More like motor oil. Putting these in the oven is a recipe for a divorce!

	ASSRA # 11318 Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
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rkba2nd Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 2090 Location: earth Joined: Feb 16^th, 2009	Re: De-Lubing old bullets Reply #7 - Sep 13^th, 2023 at 1:10pm	Print Post
	Almost any good solvent will get the job done if left to soak. I have used oderless turpentine(not completely so) and acetone with success. I use a wooden handled bristle brush to remove stubborn residue in the grooves when using acetone I advise covering the containers of either to preclude the result mentioned above.

	rkba2nd
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yamoon Oldtimer Offline NRA Life, ASSRA , GGCA, MCA Posts: 991 Location: Junction City Kansas Joined: Feb 11^th, 2012	Re: De-Lubing old bullets Reply #8 - Sep 13^th, 2023 at 1:49pm	Print Post
	bpjack wrote on Sep 13^th, 2023 at 12:53pm: I just hit some with a heat gun and it definitely does not smell like honey. More like motor oil. Putting these in the oven is a recipe for a divorce! Guess your beeswax was more pure than mine. Mike


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westerner Frequent Elocutionist Offline deleted posts and threads record holder. Posts: 12256 Location: Why, out West of course Joined: May 29^th, 2006	Re: De-Lubing old bullets Reply #9 - Sep 13^th, 2023 at 4:08pm	Print Post
	If it's ASL lube you're most likely having to contend with carbon. ASL lube has been known to carbon up barrels. I remember looking into a Canadian shooters barrel at Spokane. There was carbon chunks and bad erosion with very little rifling left.

	A blind squirrel runs into a tree every once in a while.
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bpjack Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 3696 Location: East Olympia, WA Joined: May 18^th, 2008	Re: De-Lubing old bullets Reply #10 - Sep 13^th, 2023 at 4:43pm	Print Post
	The few bullets marked ASL still have sticky lube just like the JSL ones. I a going to try shooting a few but might try melting the lube off of a few. Gasoline seems to work a bit better than Acetone. It cleaned a batch of 38-55 bullets well enough to re-lube and shoot. They are Bob's WW+Lead+40-1 mix. They seem close to Lyman #2 hardness. I will see how they work with smokeless.

	ASSRA # 11318 Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
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rkba2nd Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 2090 Location: earth Joined: Feb 16^th, 2009	Re: De-Lubing old bullets Reply #11 - Sep 13^th, 2023 at 5:25pm	Print Post
	That is good to know that gasoline works well, and is less expensive, although our president is doing all he can to change that. I have just always had an aversion to using gasoline or white gas for cleaning purposes, that stemming from witnessing a service station fire which ignited a tanker filling the underground tank. Spectacular is the best word I can think of, as there were no casualties involved, aside from total destruction of the service station, and some nearby structures.

	rkba2nd
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bpjack Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 3696 Location: East Olympia, WA Joined: May 18^th, 2008	Re: De-Lubing old bullets Reply #12 - Sep 13^th, 2023 at 7:05pm	Print Post
	The gas I got today, mainly for the mowers was $529 a gallon for regular. Aceton is not much more. Our wacko governor came up with a carbon tax that currently comes in at about $.50-.60 a gallon. He says that it is the refiner's problem and they shouldn't be passing the extra costs to the end user.

	ASSRA # 11318 Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
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bpjack Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 3696 Location: East Olympia, WA Joined: May 18^th, 2008	Re: De-Lubing old bullets Reply #13 - Sep 13^th, 2023 at 9:52pm	Print Post
	New process. Melt what I can with a heat gun. Soak in gas for an hour. Rinse in boiling soapy water. They are now clean enough but a bit sticky so a final rinse in Acetone. I had some bullets with old but still sticky unknown lube. All they took was the heat gun and acetone rinse.

	ASSRA # 11318 Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
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Otony Senior Forum Member Offline Posts: 310 Location: Bandon, Oregon Joined: Jun 5^th, 2021	Re: De-Lubing old bullets Reply #14 - Sep 13^th, 2023 at 10:00pm	Print Post
	I’m glad I had a useful suggestion for once

	Otony
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